Hospitalists

Hospitalists work in hospitals and other health care facilities. Depending on the size of the facility, there may be three to four hospitalists working the day shift and one or two working the night shift. Busy large hospitals may have even more.

Hours are long and can be erratic. Schedules may be challenging. Hospitalists may, for example, work 12-hour shifts (either day or night) for seven days and then have seven days off. Or they may work five days, have two days off, and then work seven days. It all depends on the facility. Hospitalists worked an average of 53 hours a week in 2023, according to the Medscape Hospitalist Compensation Report 2024. Non-hospitalists averaged 49 hours a week.

This career can be stressful. In addition to caring for a large number of patients, hospitalists deal with life and death situations every day. Additionally, because of the nature of the work, hospitalists may often be exposed to patients who have contagious illnesses.

Despite the challenges of a medical career 73 percent of hospitalists who were surveyed in 2023 for the Medscape Hospitalist Compensation Report 2024 said that they would choose a medical career again.